High Fantasy idea

Instead of making a boring introductory thread, I'll make my first post a plot discussion. Thank you truthSayre for
the cbox input [and for bringing me to this board in the first place.]

My idea is for a high fantasy RP where humans have enslaved gods by sealing them in human form, and are exploiting their powers for political gain. Here are some details:
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In the world, every object and creature has a Name. Their Name, spoken in the sacred language of the gods, is the verbal embodiment of all that they are; knowing a Name can give the user complete control over the person. The gods created the world by reciting all the names of every single thing and creature in existence.

One god taught his disciples how to use the godspeech. Accidentally, he blurted out his true name. Armed with this knowledge, the humans evoked his name and sealed him in human form. After a few hours of torture, the god gave up the names of his fellow deities, which the humans captured into corporeal form as well.

Eventually the gods fell into the possession of rich families who exploited their power. A merchant prince might order the god of weather to send swift sails to his fleet, a noble might command the god of growth the keep his vineyards hardy in the coming winter. But there were only a handful of gods, but many many parties vying for their power.
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There's the gist of it. There are three groups: the nobles who use and abuse their pet gods, the gods who are enslaved, and the commoners who are caught in the middle. There are also the mages that know godspeech and broker the trades between nobles; they're in charge of passing ownership of the god from own family to another.

Let me know your thoughts.

[Tammika]

I love it. When characters start forming in my head just from reading the brief description it makes me soo happy!! This sounds like a fun and interesting idea. Is there any possible way for the gods to be freed?

Good question. Yes, there is a way to free the gods. But no one wants to do it.

1] If a noble family does not want their god, they can simply sell it to a buyer that does. Freeing one god upsets
the balance of the whole godstrade.

2] Mages get paid for their services. The bulk of magic schools are funded by rich patrons who benefit from the
buying and selling of gods. No gods = no use for mages = no money.

3] It's a long, arduous, time-consuming ritual that most mages don't have the adequate power or knowledge to perform. I suspect the mages who created this technique were like Albert Einstein, while the mages in charge of handling the gods nowadays are like high school physics students. They don't have as thorough a knowledge of godspeech and know just enough to please their patrons.

4] It's already been done. In the past, a noble did free their god. The god thanked his former master by killing him and reigning havoc on the kingdom. It took ten years for the god to be recaptured. The memory is still fresh in some of the elder people's minds.

So if your character wants to find the lost secret art of unsealing gods, feel free. But its extremely hard to do, requires an extensive knowledge of the craft, and the one and only time it was done it brought hell on earth

[Tammika]

Oh well guess there goes that idea...still though love this plot idea.. gotta round out the noble character thats floating in my brain^^ and then see what you think.

[TruthSayer]

I have a couple of questions! I wonder if the gods being restricted to human form would in any way dampen their powers? Or if the human form would wear after a while? Such as the human form was not made to hold such awesome power inside of it, so it ages prematurely, and a new form must be made... or found...

I wonder where these forms come from. Are they the recycled dead? Or is there a human in there with them, like a second mind, a second heart, that conflicts or compliments that of the gods'?

I like these questions! They make me think.

Being in human form definitely dampens the god's powers. Imagine being wrapped up head to toe in duct tape. All your senses, from touching to seeing to even smelling, are all blunted. Being in human form is the god's equivalent of being partially blind, deaf, and mentally handicapped. Some of the gods are going nuts from the sensory deprivation...

As for the hosts, think of the gods as water. They have a spirit form [steam], an "elemental" form [water]*, and a physical form [ice]. The magical bindings are essentially an ice box that traps the water and forces it to stay as ice. The mage's job is to keep the box tightly sealed, make sure there are no holes it could leak through, and when a noble demands the god's power, to open the box juuuuuuuuuuust enough to let the god work its magic.

The reason I don't want to give them a human host is that
1] They already embattled in a power struggle with the nobles and the mages. A third party might be overkill.
2] Recall that the original god was tortured to give up the Names of his colleagues. If the body was a human host, he probably could have just let the host die and his spirit be released. But he couldn't. Which implies that his body cannot die. Which means that the body itself was immortal. Which sucks for the gods, because they can be tortured again and again for centuries, without the relief of death.
3] The mages who captured the god originally did it by accidentally. It's not like they said, "Let's trap him in this plane of existence and abuse the hell out of him!" More like they thought, "Hmmm, we now have the god's Name. Let's do something cool with it!" They wouldn't have had a body for him to inhabit; they just bound him to the body he already showed up in.

Now I just need a name for the RP, and I'll get OOC Discussion thread up and running. Everyone can go claim their gods and nobles there. [I gots dips on the god of love ]

*A god of water's elemental form would be water, obviously. A god of beauty's elemental form might be a stroke of inspiration, a god of love's form might be the fleeting feeling of butterflies in the stomach.

EDIT:
A few words of magic.

Magic is a language. Spells are essentially poems in the divine word of godspeech. While an apprentice can shout out the word for fire to ignite a small flame, true magic is weaving the words into a lyrical phrase, a form both elegant and efficient. It can also be written, hand-signed, and if the apprentive has a creative streak, painted, sculpted, or even danced!

Like music, anyone can be taught godspeech, but its easier to do it while young, and some people are naturally gifted at it. Commoners know only a few words and use them clumsy at best. However, there are talismans and enchantments they can purchase from the local songcaster that are imbued with magic, if they need it.

Magic cannot influence a sentient being. One cannot take over another's mind or force him to act against his will. One can only do that if they know the creature's True Name, or in a god's case, simply overwhelm its will with the
magnitude of its power.

One little known fact about mages is that they are as bound to service to the noble as the god. The mage is the leash the noble weilds to keep the god in line. When a god is perchased, the mage signs a contract in godspeech that ultimately states that he is legally and magically obligated to heed the words of the owner. He then signs with his True Name. If a god had been given to a noble without a mage to buffer him, the noble, with no magical training to fortify him, would be inundated by the god's power.

The mage and god share an intimate connection. While not telepathic, the duo are constantly embroiled in a mental and emotional tug of war. Mages are trained to brace their minds against the god's intrsion, but it can take an exhausting toll. It is not uncommon for a mage, after years of enduring mental assault, to request a different assignment from his magister.

This sounds really, really, really neat and I totally want to play in this sandbox! I have like... 4 ideas that just popped into my head for characters: a god, a nobel, a lady mage, and a merchant's son. xD I think I'll need to think them over and thin out my head-cast, but I do so love this idea/world you have here.

[Tammika]

so glad this was revived!! i was totally looking forward to it!!